Buying an L-2

In article 36, Carl
Ellis wrote:

EDR wrote in :
They can be a real bitch to get in and out of.

Worse than a Cub?

Yes. Unlike the fold up/fold down door on the Cub, the L2 has a single
door. The lower front of the door angles back and requires the pilot to
be able to lift his/her leg up high to clear the sidewall. It can be
tight with the position of the front seat.

Lots of new L-2 action over at the taylorcraft forum. Looks like a really
nice one for sale.

http://vb.taylorcraft.org/search.php?
s=&action=showresults&getnew=true&searchid=19123

Carl Ellis wrote in message .97.136...
EDR wrote in :


They can be a real bitch to get in and out of.

Worse than a Cub?

Yes, I'm a big guy and it was pretty tough for me to get in and out of
the L-2. The front seat was the worst. I never had a reason to sit in
the front seat of the Cub, but I can say the L-2 is much harder to get
into than the Citrabria/Champ airframe. The reason is that the door is
hinged so far back. The door hing comes to about my mid-leg. The seat
isn't much further back. I would say the distance back from the door
hing to the back of the front seat is just over a foot. That's a
pretty tight fit to get into (especially for my 6'4" frame). However,
I felt I could figure it out well enough to buy it. Once I was in it,
it was much more comfortable than a J-3 or a Chief. The Cub isn't very
comfortable because you fly with your legs spread around the front
seat. In the Cub my knees were always stuck in my chest (no seat of
rudder adjustments available).
The other thing about the Cub that is less than ideal is the very
light wing loading. A Cub never flys straight on its on. Anytime the
wake of a small bird crosses your path, a Cub wing will drop. Much
more than the Aeroncas. I'm not sure about the L-2. The L-2 has a lot
of weight so I'm guessing the overall wing loading would be more.

-Robert

(Robert M. Gary) wrote in
om:

Carl Ellis wrote in message
.97.136...
EDR wrote in
:


They can be a real bitch to get in and out of.

Worse than a Cub?

Yes, I'm a big guy and it was pretty tough for me to get in and out of
the L-2. The front seat was the worst. I never had a reason to sit in
the front seat of the Cub, but I can say the L-2 is much harder to get
into than the Citrabria/Champ airframe. The reason is that the door is
hinged so far back. The door hing comes to about my mid-leg. The seat
isn't much further back. I would say the distance back from the door
hing to the back of the front seat is just over a foot. That's a
pretty tight fit to get into (especially for my 6'4" frame). However,
I felt I could figure it out well enough to buy it. Once I was in it,
it was much more comfortable than a J-3 or a Chief. The Cub isn't very
comfortable because you fly with your legs spread around the front
seat. In the Cub my knees were always stuck in my chest (no seat of
rudder adjustments available).
The other thing about the Cub that is less than ideal is the very
light wing loading. A Cub never flys straight on its on. Anytime the
wake of a small bird crosses your path, a Cub wing will drop. Much
more than the Aeroncas. I'm not sure about the L-2. The L-2 has a lot
of weight so I'm guessing the overall wing loading would be more.

-Robert


Everyday is a bumpy day in a Taylorcraft. You learn in a hurry to use
that rudder to pick your wing up. I fly an F-19 which has a 1500lbs
gross and it gets bumped around, the L-2 has only a 1300lbs gross but
the same wing area. It is possible to make long trips in these
airplanes, a group of us made a 1400 mile trip last weekend, PDX-O22-
PDX. My friends were flying their BC-12D's (65hp) which have a 1220
(??) gross weight. If it's relatively smooth it's possible to trim out
and fly with your hands in your lap.

- Carl -